Peter from Maplecrest Homes had mentioned to me that he had found gypsy moth caterpillars that had hatched. So this weekend, I was at the Royal Botanical Gardens . 
At the Lilac Gardens, there are oak trees all around
the parking circle. I know that there were gypsy moth caterpillars there last spring. Sure enough, you could see the little devils just starting to crawl around on the egg sacs. At this stage, they haven't started to do any damage yet.
This year could be another bad year for gypsy moth caterpillars. Certain areas were devastated by the defoliation caused by these hungry, voaracious leaf chewing insects.
Certainly, defoliation can be very stressful on the plants and successive defoliations can possibly lead to the demise of a tree.
For the major trees that are 4 inches in diameter or more, we recommend the use of Acecaps. With Acecaps, the capsules will place a systemic insecticide into the sap stream of the tree. Once the sap has the insecticide in it, the leaf of the trees containing that sap is now unhealthy for the caterpillars.
The advantage of Acecaps is that they can be applied without affecting anything else. There is no need to worry about cars, people who may be in the vicinity. The Acecaps also will last the entire season and its effect is not washed away by rain.
For smaller trees and shrubs, we have an organic insecticide that will knock out the caterpillars. It also greatly reduces damage by acting as an anti-feedant.
If you have any questions about gypsy moth caterpillars see our Library - Gypsy Moth Caterpillars or do a search of our website for more blog entries.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Baby Gypsy Moth Caterpillars have Hatched
Monday, June 11, 2007
Gypsy Moth Caterpillars
These destructive pest
Gypsy Moth Caterpillar - these caterpillars are dark and hairy with a double row of 5 pairs of blue and 6 pairs of red spots from head to tail. They feed on many tree species. Favourites include birches, lindens, crabapples, mountain ash, willows, oaks, blue spruce and many other trees. Voracious feeders, these caterpillars have been known to defoliate trees.
Trap caterpillars by tying a band of burlap around tree trunks. Inspect daily and destroy caterpillars.
Use Acecaps to prevent damage or foliar treatments. These must be applied by a professional
Turf King uses either Acecaps for larger trees or an organic insecticide containing Neem oil to control the Gypsy Moth Caterpillar
To contact us www.hamilton.turfking.ca
or to request a quote online
or Phone 905.318.6677 or 1.888.TURFKING
See the CBS news report on these pests from YouTube
Friday, May 18, 2007
Gypsy Moth Caterpillars
There have been a couple of articles in Hamilton Spectator about the Gypsy Moth Caterpillars.
I was at a home in Ancaster today. Found a baby caterpillar on a fruit tree. These little guys can be voracious feeders and given enough time and enough caterpillars a tree can be defoliated by these critters.
Please keep your eyes open for signs of leaves with holes in them. And for sightings of the caterpillars themselves.
Click here to Request a Quote Online -
